Sugars and Sweeteners

Sweeteners are important ingredients in bakery products. Besides providing a sweet taste, they also affect fermentability, appearance, flavor, color, structure, and texture of the finished products. There are many available choices of sweeteners, and the type chosen depends on the degree of sweetness needed, their function in doughs and batters, and the desired appearance or texture of the baked product; marketing and regulatory issues must be carefully checked, too, as they can vary in different countries. Sucrose is one of the most important nutritive sweeteners in households and in the food industry. As a response to recent public interest in low-calorie products, however, a growing interest in sucrose substitutes has been observed. This is a huge challenge, due to the detectable losses in appearance, texture, flavor, and mouthfeel of the final food caused by sucrose reduction or substitutio